Applications that help IBM i managers monitor security events, support audits, and comply with regulations and standards continue to be vital.

Written by John Ghrist

The corporate audit for assuring that your enterprise is adhering to laws and regulations governing information protection has gotten to be as routine as filing your annual corporate taxes. The critical questions have changed from "how will we deal with this?" to "how can we streamline this unavoidable necessity?" and "what's new in laws and standards that we have to watch out for?"

If your emphasis has been on acquiring the skills to put your company on the Web, you may want to ask if you have the necessary knowledge of system and network security to protect your firm once it gets there.

Written by Chris Smith

With the growing emphasis on connecting IBM i systems to the Internet, one has to ask if the current focus on developers' tools to get there isn't tantamount to educating a 10-year-old on alternative trails for skateboarding over to the interstate highway. If you don't know how to secure the system once you're online, is it really wise to keep accelerating up the onramp?

KST Software gives users a free taste of its security solution that can monitor individual files—as well as users.

Written by Chris Smith

Perhaps I'm overly materialistic, but if there is one word I like over all others, it's "free." For the next three months, IBM i users in certain markets can download and activate KST Software's DataTrigger security program at no charge.

KST is an Israeli company that has a unique take on security: it uses IBM's trigger technology to monitor changes to the database and notify the administrator or security officer through an alert. The technique hasn't gained widespread use largely because of the overhead that triggers place on system resources. With IBM's newer high-performance processors, however, such work is of little consequence nowadays, according to KST.

When data goes "wrong," it's time to mount a strategy.

Written by Thomas M. Stockwell

Where is the truth in numbers? Who is responsible when data discrepancy occurs? How can upper management be certain that what they see reflected in their reports accurately represents the truth of what is found in any particular manufacturing process, inventory shelf, sales achievement, or future projection?

These questions are particularly important as organizations use business intelligence (BI) applications to pull together the data generated by separate software packages into a global picture of the enterprise as a whole. And until these questions are addressed through data governance, no one can vouch that the numbers they are using represent a picture of the reality that your management can believe.

The amount of information available in the audit journal is impressive, but the AJ also is one of the system's best-kept secrets.

Written by Carol Woodbury

The following is taken from the white paper "Ways to Use the IBM i Audit Journal," available for download free from the MC White Paper Center.

One of my favorite integrated features of IBM i (iSeries) is auditing. The system can be configured to audit security-relevant actions of every profile on the system or just a handful. Or it can be configured to audit the use of objects.

The amount of information available in the audit journal is really quite amazing. Unfortunately, it's one of the system's best-kept secrets!

There are no absolutes, particularly when it comes to security, but the cloud can be a safe place to store sensitive personal and financial data if managed properly, according to a prominent data security firm.

Written by Chris Smith 

Securing the cloud is not a slam dunk, but as an increasing number of companies look to the cloud as a means to reduce cost and increase agility, the need to secure the cloud is upon us. Unfortunately, the skills necessary for most IT professionals to assume responsibility for ensuring reliable cloud security are lacking, according to a new survey.

The 2011 RSA conference concluded this week in San Francisco with a sense that security is more important than ever given threats from hostile nations and organizations including al-Qaeda. Nevertheless, business is determined to move applications and data to the cloud because of the dramatic cost and flexibility advantages that the cloud promises. However, securing the cloud takes special skillsâskills that most IT security practitioners today don't possess.

The recently released utility from Halcyon gives system administrators the ability to grant temporary authorities to users and then monitor their activities during a limited period.

Written by Chris Smith

A friend of mine had her identity stolen and suddenly started receiving thousands of dollars in random credit card charges before she knew what hit her. It turned out that a disgruntled employee working at the financial institution holding her mortgage had downloaded and sold her personal information—along with that of thousands of other customers—to an international crime ring. Could this happen at your company, and should you be so unlucky, how long would it take you to realize there was a security breach?

As concerns about cyber security grow, even the reliable IBM i can use some protection help against myriad threats. Here are more than 50 products that can help you.

Written by John Ghrist

The start of a new year is always a good time to review and refresh our longstanding outlooks on a variety of topics, and computer security is certainly a deserving one. IBM's Power Systems (called here the System i) have a solid reputation for reliability and security, but each passing year sees growth in threats to systems and data. That makes any time a good time for reviewing the System i market's spectrum of products that can help avoid security problems.